A job seekers guide to Melbourne

It's been a while since we've done a serious blog and job hunting in Melbourne is about as serious as it gets. We hope to provide you with a bit of advice when it comes to looking for job because it's not easy.

When we first arrived in Melbourne we thought getting jobs wouldn't be too hard and we could save all our travel funds in a couple of months. However it didn't work out like that. Whilst Alex got off to a better start through his family connections, Rachael struggled to find a job. Doggedly day after day she'd send out resumes, but as soon as they saw the words 'working holiday visa', she was immediately rejected. No one really wants to take on temporary staff to train them up and lose them six months later.

She had a brief flash of hope when a cafe offered her a trial run. She got to spend the day making sandwiches and was told she'd be called the next day to arrange shifts. After several days of silence, we were informed by a local Aussie that this commonly happens; cafes using free labour on 'trial days' and never take the person back. Back to the drawing board!

Thankfully though after applying for practically every job available on Seek (brilliant website covering every job imaginable) Rach got her luck back and is now working as an admin assistant full-time in the centre of town. Contractually though, as she is on a temporary visa, she's classified as a casual worker- the perils of the visa!

Now Rach is settled it's time for Alex to get out there and start looking. As he has had years of bar experience, he's asked after a lot of bar roles but unfortunately for this he will need to apply for a RSA certificate (Responsibility of Serving Alcohol) which he doesn't really want to do unless he's guaranteed a job out of it. We'll have to hope he gets a lucky break soon too.

Job hunting is exhausting and will take a lot of work. Be prepared to wander the centre handing out resumes and spend evenings applying for jobs on Seek or there's also Career One and Mycareer but we've found Seek to be the better website. Don't be fussy, take anything you can get. And try and befriend the locals, sometimes it's who you know.

Rex's Rules of the Road

• Seek is a great starting point. They've got jobs for everyone all over Australia.

• Be wary of trial days, particularly in cafes, they may never call on you again.

• Don't be scared to look country wide if you can’t find anything in your area.